A Good Day Damn it
by kimihime97
Summary: Today wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be a good day, damn it. A day where he wasn't consumed with the need to go out and start trouble with Venture. A day where Sheila and Gary were both home and had no plans, a day where the three of them could just fucking exist together and enjoy each other's company.


**I'm fully aware that this fandom is...very small, and not many people dabble in fics for it. That being said, I had an itch to scratch. I'm never active on this site, you can find me on _ArchiveOfOurOwn_ under the name PrinceSkylar. If by some stroke of weird luck you're reading this, I also have a head canon that The Monarch is trans. If that isn't your cup of tea then don't read because that's all this fic is. I also head canon that he, Gary, and Sheila are in a poly relationship. **

**I do not own The Venture Bros, nor do I own any of the characters.**

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Today wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be a good day, damn it. A day where he wasn't consumed with the need to go out and start trouble with Venture. A day where Sheila and Gary were both home and had no plans, a day where the three of them could just fucking exist together and enjoy each other's company. They even had plans! They had a pile of movies to watch and endless junk food, even some wine coolers! Today was supposed to be a good day with the two loves of his life.

...Yet here he was in the bathroom, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest. Christ, he thought he was done with the dysphoria crap years ago. He couldn't even remember the last time it had felt this bad. And he couldn't even explain it! He'd taken one look at himself in the mirror, eyeing the scars on his chest for a second longer than normal and then this...this shit mood had just rolled over him like a wave. He'd been doing so well, had felt so confident for such a long time…

Maybe that was what he got for being so happy. Maybe the universe was finally getting back at him for all the times he'd escaped death and cheated his way out of everything. Yeah, that made sense. Why wouldn't it? The one day he'd been looking forward to for weeks was the perfect time to get back at him, of course. It made total sense. Fuck.

Malcom sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes for a second. Gary and Sheila were down stairs waiting for him, had been for what, almost thirty minutes now? He should just force himself up to his feet and get dressed and go downstairs already. But here he was, unable to move, wearing just a pair of boxers. He brought a hand up to rub at his face, trying to find a way to force himself up to his feet.

"Sweetie?" Oh, for fuck's sake. Sheila had come looking after all, and her voice was followed by a soft knock on the door. "Sweetie, are you alright? You've been in there a while. Did you forget a towel again?"

"No," He called back, gritting his teeth for a second. A vague wave of irritation was washing over him but not at Sheila...never at her, of course. It was his fucking brain, his fucking body, whatever fucking mood that had rolled over him without warning. "I'm fine, honey. I just...I'll be down in a minute!"

"...Alright." She sounded hesitant, like maybe she wanted to come in and ask him to his face. But she wouldn't, he knew. They all had a good set of boundaries, the three of them. "Gary and I have all the food set up and the blankets on the couch when you're ready."

He listened to the sound of her steps disappearing down the hall and then he groaned, raking his fingers through his hair. No use sitting and sulking now that she was probably a little suspicious. He heaved himself up, pointedly avoiding looking at the mirror, and then pulled on the t-shirt he had brought, one of Gary's, and then he headed out of the bathroom. It never took this much effort to walk through his own house. His legs felt heavy and he started to feel a headache forming at the back of his skull. Great. Just great. That was just what he needed on top of everything else.

Breathe. All he had to do was relax with the two people he loved and that would fix it. It would be a cold day in hell when the presence of his two favorite people didn't lift his mood. A very, very cold fucking day. Dysphoria wasn't a stranger to him...but it had been quite a while since it had felt this bad. Again, perhaps the universe was finally getting back at him and that made total sense.

When he shuffled into the living room Gary looked up from the couch and grinned. "There you are." He paused and Malcom realized that his expression must have given away every gross feeling he had welling up inside of him. Gary frowned a little bit and cocked his head to the side. "You alright?" Then again, Gary and Sheila could read him like a book most of the time.

Malcom rolled his shoulders in a shrug as he sat down on the couch, right between the two of them. "I'm fine. What are we watching first?" He reached for the pile of movies and started looking through them. "Okay, no Star Wars first or I'll go insane." He shot Gary a look when he seemed ready to argue. "We will watch them but you gotta start off with something else first."

"I'm partial to Jurassic Park." Sheila offered as she reached for one of the wine coolers one of them had brought out. It was pink, some sort of strawberry flavor. "I haven't seen that in forever."

Dinosaurs. Something simple, something he could make lame jokes about while they watched it. Yeah, that sounded good. Maybe it would keep him distracted. He gave a small nod and held it out to Gary. "Put it on."

But Gary didn't move right away. He stared at him, eyeing him. Sheila was watching him too, sipping her wine cooler slowly. God, if that wasn't a lot of pressure…

Malcom heaved a sigh and leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms. "What?"

"You know that we...know you well enough to know when you're feeling off, right?" Gary asked slowly, fiddling with the DVD case in his hands. "Are you okay, man?"

Malcom heaved a sigh, biting his lip; it was an anxious habit he had picked up over the last few years. Logically, there was no real reason to hide what was bothering him. Sheila was no stranger to his dysphoria and the mood swings that came with it. Gary didn't have as much experience but he knew, had dealt with it and eased him through it enough by now. They both knew, they both loved to take care of him. But it had been so long since the last time this had happened. It had been so long since Malcom's stupid self image had managed to ruin their day like this and...well, he just wanted to have a good time.

He wanted to just shove all those bad feelings down his throat. Gary and Sheila weren't gonna push if he really didn't want to talk about it, he knew that. But they knew something was wrong and it would probably eat at them all day and...fuck.

With a heavy sigh Malcom leaned back into the couch, shrugging a little bit. "It's just...you know. Dysphoria crap. No big deal." He shifted, just a little, so that he could stretch his legs out and prop them up on the living room table. "It's not a big deal. It happens. Just feel shitty, you know? But we're having a good day! I want to have a good day!"

Sheila's fingers were combing through his hair not even a moment later, and Gary's hand came to gently settle on his thigh. It was already so comforting. Sheila leaned over then and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Can we do anything to help?"

Malcom hesitated and shrugged again, biting his lip in thought. He learned a long time ago that it would pass, that he didn't have to feel as suffocated in his own skin as he used to be. Being around people who loved and supported you did that, he supposed.

"...I'm manly, yeah?" He asked slowly. He knew he was. He could look in the mirror (most days) and feel like the peak of masculinity. It just...felt good to get extra reassurance, to hear someone say it.

"Dude, you so fucking manly." Gary assured him, moving his hand to instead slip his arm around Malcom's waist. He kissed his other cheek, then nuzzled it gently. "You're manly and smart and so evil, and it's great! You're great."

"You're wonderful, and you're our favorite guy in the world." Sheila added with a soft, adoring grin. She passed her wine cooler to him and slid closer, curling right into his side. "I'm sorry you feel bad, sweetie, but we're here for whatever you need. Today is about relaxing and enjoying each other, and you know we don't mind taking care of you if you need it."

"God, you two are so fucking good." Malcom chuckled softly, but already he could feel a lot of the stress from before fading away.

"I mean, we try." Gary replied with a smile. He reached for the movies on the table, scooping up Jurassic Park and getting up to put it into the DVD player.

"You do a great job." Malcom murmured. He brought the wine cooler to his lips and took a sip, before his nose crinkled a bit at the taste. "Good god, that's sweet."

"Oh yeah, it's gonna be heartburn central tonight, Baby." Sheila plucked it from his hand with a playful smirk, laying her head on his shoulder.

Gary put the movie in and settled down with them, snuggled right up to the other side of Malcom. Yes, this felt better already.


End file.
